Angelina McDonagh has cried a lot over the past two years - but now, it is only happy tears for her.
She has moved into her forever family home in a Limerick city suburb with the help of charity Novas, and knows now that her fears about being evicted or having to move on have come to an end.
"I was living happily with my daughter aged 11 and my son aged seven in rented accommodation in Fedamore for many years, but the landlord wanted to retire and sell up," she said.
"I spent so many months looking for suitable and affordable accommodation but was just coming up against a brick wall."
Eventually Ms McDonagh was given accommodation in a hotel bedroom where she stayed for a year, and then moved into a family hub, where she lived for another year.
"While I was glad to get a roof over our heads, the hotel accommodation was extremely cramped. It was just like a small cramped box room. We had no room to pass each other out, the kids were doing their homework on the beds.
"I could not cook and we only had a small sink in the bathroom. While the family hub did have more space, it was still so far from what we needed to settle as a family," she said.
Ms McDonagh moved into her new home on the eve of her daughter’s 11th birthday. She said it has made such a huge difference to their lives.
"The change has been enormous. The space here has been a gamechanger. Just to have the space for our own bedrooms, a kitchen to make meals, a sitting room and hall.
"I kept telling the kids that the hotel and hub were not going to be forever, but when I got the phone call about the house I was so happy. I never thought that day would come, but it did, and I know I have this home for life, and all my tears now are happy ones," she said.
Ms McDonagh secured her long tenancy home with the help of the housing and homeless agency Novas, which is releasing its annual report today to mark World Homeless Day.
Massive rise in demand
And while her story is one of their successes, there is much to be concerned about in that report.
Novas provided emergency accommodation for more than 1,000 individuals, long term housing to almost 800, and supported 1,200 children.
But the stand out figure is the massive rise in the demand for their out-of-hours services, offered after 9pm, to those who have nowhere else to go and call on these services.
Novas Chairperson Michael O’Connell said: "The report highlights the unprecedented growth in the numbers of presentations to our out-of-hours services in Limerick during 2023, increasing from 1,130 to more that 2,800.
"Most of the presentations were to McGarry House [emergency accommodation building] from 9pm to 9am and spiked in the latter half of the year. The Novas board is deeply concerned about this trend," he said.
Another issue of concern is providing specific and stronger supports for women seeking homeless services.
Head of Advocacy and Communications at Novas Una Burns said: "Our research and experience has shown us that women’s experiences of homelessness is very different to men’s. Very often they are reluctant to engage with homeless services, until it’s a last resort, because of the male dominated nature of those services.
"Frequently women who find themselves homeless may come from a domestic violence and addiction background, and their needs must be addressed in a different way.
"We’ve provided dedicated female services across Dublin, and are committed to providing a female only floor at our McGarrry House accommodation in Limerick city, to give women an opportunity to enhance their sense of safety," she said.
Novas CEO Una Deacy said their annual report is peppered with stories that highlight the human impact of homelessness, the trauma it yields and the power of recovery and housing.
"The numbers who are homeless across the country, now over 14,000, are deeply concerning. The Governments housing targets need to be accelerated and there is a great need for single accommodation units.
"But we also need enhanced community supports to prevent more and more people entering homelessness as our out-of-hours demands indicate. The crisis is already big enough without adding more to the problem," she added.
